Most hoteliers of a certain age will remember "selling". It's what they did before the internet encouraged them all to abdicate their sales responsibilities to online agents.

In the past six years overall hotel occupancy in the UK has barely moved above 60%. Online methods have not led to on overall increase in sales. They have simply displaced other routes. The current vogue for late booking of "distress" space through online booking agents has led to downward pressure on rate and caused many larger hotel companies to fight back with their own online booking systems. However nobody seems to be able to actually "sell" online.

A new website has been introduced in the UK, which offers hoteliers an opportunity to combine their online efforts with the good old fashioned selling techniques they used to use - eRoomBidder.com.

Hoteliers can now sell online using a mix of auction, fixed price and barter options on a site that is dedicated to their industry. They can promote rooms and packages for up to a year in advance and constantly test and refine pricing, package and booking window options, all from a simple we page. Potential buyers can even list their requirements and let the hotels come forward with options.

"We're putting control over presentation, rate and timing back in the hands of the hotelier", said Allan Simpson, chief executive of eRoomBidder.com. "Now hotels can use the eRoomBidder system to promote their properties in an innovative, manageable and cost effective way. Every hotel can deliver a comprehensive selling proposition to prospective customers, for each product they have, every day of the year."

Using the eRoomBidder system enables hoteliers to become more responsive to customer needs and to return to basic selling skills such as "listening" and identifying what customers really want to buy. Customers find good deals, hotels sell more rooms at appropriate prices. Everybody benefits.


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